


Ear Candy

by reddyswan



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Day 4 : first meeting, First Meetings, Gen deserves love and comfort, M/M, Sengen week, a lot of mentioned charas, and cute cashier ukyo, discussing eugenics, like chrome, sengen week 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:01:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22069702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddyswan/pseuds/reddyswan
Summary: "Gen absent-mindedly nodded, more focused on the deepness of his voice than what he was saying. He really liked the way he stressed some words.His drawl was ear candy."Or how Gen met Senkuu by accident in a café and fell for him instantly.~SenGen Week 2019~
Relationships: Asagiri Gen/Ishigami Senkuu
Comments: 45
Kudos: 435





	Ear Candy

**Author's Note:**

> It's been years since I actually posted a work of mine, and never in English so I'm quite nervous about the outcome but what I wouldn't do for sengen T_T
> 
> So this is my contribution to the first sengen week, enjoy!

“You really did a great job tonight, Gen!” His manager said, all giddy while parking their agency’s van in front of his apartment building. “You know, I was serious about you taking next week off, you’ve performed for five days straight. Don’t overdo it.” She turned around and smiled softly at him.

“I told you I’m fine, Nikki-chan~ a good rest and I’ll be all good. Don’t mind my eye bags, I could almost say I was born with them at this point.”

“It’s already 3 in the morning, silly. ‘Resting’ isn’t enough, I want you to sleep in and eat a healthy breakfast when you wake up, I know you don’t have classes this morning.”

“I swear you’re more concerned about my health than my own mother.”

“Gen…”

“I heard you loud and clear, Nikki-chan. I’m sleeping as soon as I get home, alright. See ya!”

Gen put his beanie and his sunglasses on and quickly stepped out of the car, waving briefly at his manager as she drove off. “ _I said that but I don’t want to sleep at all…_ ”

After quickly scanning the area, he finally allowed himself to relax. 

He was suddenly craving something sweet. Whenever a new series of performances came up, Nikki was entrusted with a new diet designed for the young magician. She usually did her best not to ramble too much but, ever the sweet tooth herself, earlier that day she had let slip the location of the 24/7 coffee shop she always bought her favorite strawberry shortcake from, which was only a few blocks away from his apartment. 

He took a few seconds to ponder over it. He still had a few performances later that month but he figured he might as well give in and indulge himself just once, who was stopping him? 

He threw another glance behind him.

With a tiny spring in his step, he ignored the voice of reason and headed for the coffee shop in question.

✶ ☕ ✶

Senkuu scribbled down a few words before crumpling an umpteenth piece of paper. Barely resisting the urge to rip apart the other dozen or so papers balls on his table, he only sighed as he proceeded to throw them in the nearest trash can. The telltale sound of the bell announcing a newcomer rang, disrupting the calm atmosphere of the shop. Ignoring the flash of purple clothing he couldn’t help but catch out of the corner of his eyes, Senkuu went back to his seat, in the corner he realized provided the most privacy, away from prying eyes. He closed his laptop with a heavy sigh.

He took another blank piece of paper from his notebook and stared at it for at least five minutes. The curse he let out loud rang around him.

This damn assignment was getting on his nerves a little bit more with each passing second. 

Two weeks ago, his biology teacher, Hyouga, had had the brilliant idea of making his class of first years research disturbing biologic topics. 

He was never one to back down from a good challenge and gruesome stuff but he wasn’t feeling it. He couldn't give his all whenever it happened and ending up with fucking eugenics had him extremely pissed off. He could bet his life that Hyouga was just getting back at him for that one time they had argued about heredity in class.

How he envied Chrome who didn't chose this elective. He didn’t have to put up with Hyouga’s bullshit.

He only had 48 more hours to submit his paper. He let out a dry chuckle. Senkuu really needed to pass this class, no matter how much he loathed the teacher and his weird tendencies. He didn’t want to fuck up his grade but no way in hell was he willing to lie in a scientific paper. Really, it was the only reason he was pulling an all-nighter in this coffee shop Taiju and Yuzuriha often dragged him to. At least, their drinks were good.

He took a sip from his latte. Shit, it was cold.

✶ ☕ ✶

Ordering a single pastry had been a heartbreaking experience. 

From the cozy atmosphere and the nice decoration to the absolutely amazing-looking goods in the display case, Gen knew this definitely wouldn't be his last time here. 

The cute cashier, "Ukyo" his nametag read, softly called out to him. "One hot chocolate and one strawberry shortcake, here you go!"

"Oh sorry I was spacing out, thank you~"

Gen immediately sought for the most hidden place of the shop, where his presence would be completely concealed from an on-looker or newcomer’s field of view. Force of habit made him spot the perfect corner within a few seconds. Lightly humming to the jazzy song playing in the background, he made his way over there, noticing way too late someone was already occupying the spot. 

The person in question finally looked up in a lazy fashion, sharp eyes, gleaming maroon in the dimmed lights, instantly assessing the intruder from head to toes. 

The pen trapped between the man''s lips didn't even remove an ounce of charisma he exuded.

While the man seemed fairly relaxed, Gen had to admit the sheer intensity of his gaze momentarily prevented him from properly reacting and handling the situation. Shaking his head undid whatever spell he was under.

"A-ah, my bad, I didn't know someone was already here."

✶ ☕ ✶

Senkuu immediately recognized the flash of purple he'd seen a few minutes ago. Expensive-looking clothes, beanie & sunglasses, two-toned, asymmetrical hair. What kind of weirdo had walked in on him now out of all days?

Senkuu frowned.

Something felt familiar, but he didn't recall ever encountering this person. 

Realizing he should say something, he simply shrugged it off. "No biggie, it's okay." The stranger's eyes followed the pen he carelessly put down next to his cup. The weirdo narrowed his eyes until a flash of recognition lit his eyes up.

"I knew this pen looked familiar! Are you from Sekizou University?"

"... Yeah, I am. You?"

"It's been fooorever since I've last talked to another student", Gen nodded twice while putting down his drink and pastry, "can I?"

"I mean, you might as well sit down now". Senkuu observed in silence as the now-former-total-stranger thanked him with a cheerful tone and sat down across from him, removing his accessories in the process. 

Senkuu was a tad too tired to argue any further. The guy seemed a little too energetic to his taste but right now, some distraction from a fellow student didn't sound horrible.

Now that he could see the entirety of the face of said fellow student, the déjà-vu feeling only got stronger. He'd definitely get to the bottom of this matter before heading home.

"I'm sorry for barging in on you like this but let's say that I'd rather not be noticed right now. I'm Gen, majoring in psychology. Nice to meet ya."

"Senkuu, majoring in chemical physics, let’s say. Likewise." 

Despite the short replies, there was no bite in his words. Gen couldn't help but stare at the rather neat bun Senkuu was sporting, platinum roots to forest green tips catching his attention just like his, he could tell now that he was closer, crimson eyes did a few moments ago. 

His handsomeness was unfair. 

Gen looked down.

"What were you doing before I interrupted you?"

"You didn't interrupt anything, really."

There was silence for a few seconds. As usual, prior to making a new move he discreetly analyzed what his body language indicated. His slightly laid back posture, one arm on the table, the other simply resting on his thigh. He didn’t show a shred of annoyance or impatience towards him, at least. 

Well, Senkuu didn’t seem closed-off so continuing the conversation seemed safe. Slightly tilting his head, Gen spoke up once again before it got too awkward.

“Maaan, I’m so tired! I recently heard of this place so I came to try out their stuff, but are they really worth worsening our sleep-deprivation?” 

“What about actually trying out your order then?” Senkuu suggested, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

“I hope it lives up to my expectation or else I’d be so disappointed~”

And, boy was that shortcake delicious.

“Nikki-chan wasn’t lying, it’s _so_ good! No wonder she never bought me here, I would’ve messed up my diet long ago.”

“Why would someone like you need a diet? You look perfectly fine to me.”

Ignoring how much it had felt like a compliment to him, Gen weighed the pros and cons of revealing his job so soon. Establishing trust between different parties was his area of expertise, and if he eventually wanted to know more about Senkuu he’d have to give up some valuable information as well.

“In short, besides being a diligent student I’m also a mentalist~ And every time I have upcoming performances my agency puts me on a diet. They’re so mean to me.” He started whining non stop while finishing his slice. “I mean, my metabolism is shit and I gain weight sooo easily so I _get_ why they’d want to monitor me but I just love eating so much… I don’t deserve this, y’know.”

He looked up to check if the other student was annoyed by his ranting. What was his surprise when he saw Senkuu wordlessly listening to him, no sign of sudden interest in him or judging his current profession. 

“Not to get too much into details but having a fast metabolism isn’t as great as people make it out to be. Actually, it does come with more risks. People with fast metabolic activity tend to eat more and have more unhealthy eating habits since their bodies lead them to think not gaining a pound means being exempted from experiencing other symptoms. And I don’t think being more prone to mood swings, arrhythmia or blood sugar issues ‘cause your body converts nutrients into energy too quickly is really something to envy.”

Gen was at a loss of words for at least ten seconds. As the unexpected piece of information began sinking in after some deciphering, the young mentalist realized no one had ever given him real advice whenever he complained about his metabolism. In fact, they would automatically blame his eating habits or praise fast metabolism without seriously considering his complaint.

“You’re telling me that it was all a lie.”

“I’d say, a distorted vision of the reality of it. On the contrary, forcibly going on a diet when you don’t need one fucks you up more than anything else. So don’t you worry about putting on a little weight, mentalist.”

“Oh… I didn’t think you’d listen to me seriously.”

“Don’t sweat it, it’s basic knowledge.”

“Yeah right, I won’t accept the standard of ‘basic knowledge” science students have.” 

Senkuu snickered at the comeback. “You’re basically a science student, last time I checked psychology was still a form of science for most people.”

“Shh, you know what I meant, as in it’s not a hard and natural science, don’t get technical with me.” Bottom lip jutting out, Gen made sure his pout was evident.

“Ooh my deepest apologies, soft, social science student.”

“Last time I had an argument about diets, I… uh hum, forget about it.” Gen feigned not noticing the way the light-haired man frowned when he interrupted himself. He didn’t ask any questions though, which made Gen sigh in relief. He almost said too much, he hated how talkative he was sometimes.

Ironically Senkuu had outpaced him and already completed said bound of trust on his own. Or at the very least, Gen had already lowered his guard.

”Thank you, Senkuu-chan. It’s kinda amazing how you’re giving free lessons to strangers at 3 am.”

“‘-chan’? Don’t you think I deserve a ‘-sensei’ if you’re that grateful to me?”

Ignoring how good his smirk looked had been a feat. ” _We’re not going down this path, not again._ ”

Gen dismissed his remark with an evasive hand gesture. “Confident much?”

Senkuu snickered in reply.

✶ ☕ ✶

“Are you sleepy yet?”

The sudden question almost threw the scientist off. It was close to 4am, he hadn’t made any progress on his paper and he had made an unexpected encounter instead. He didn’t even have time to feel sleepy.

“At all, why?”

“Hm I’m rather feeling cozy here so I’m not going home anytime soon. That’s why I though we could play a little game, if you’re down.”

“Trying to play mind games with me, I see.”

“Could you not say that like you’re just an experiment.” Gen pouted while playing with his empty cup. “I’m just trying to get to know you better.”

“I don’t know why you’d want to get to know someone like me but whatever floats your boat I guess.”

“Okay please remind me to psychoanalyse your awful attempt at self-depreciation later.”

Letting out another chuckle, he crossed his arms and looked him in the eye expectantly. Other than his friends, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d held a conversation with someone this witty. He genuinely found the way Gen talked back funny. Playing along wouldn’t hurt.

“Flexing much?”

“Shut it, don’t use my words against me!” Gen couldn’t help but grin. He hated how effortlessly Senkuu brought a smile on his face. “What about 20 questions?”

“I never played that.”

“... Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“Where did you grow up, dude?”

“In a lab?”

They looked at each other square in the eye for several seconds before sputtering with laughter. 

“I hate how you can say the weirdest shit with a straight face!”

✶ ☕ ✶

“Okay I’m starting” Gen removed his purple overcoat, revealing his white Mandarin collar shirt. The sleeves were too long, leaving only his fingertips visible, Senkuu noticed as he unconsciously followed his every move. Pinching the end of his sleeves, the mentalist finally settled on his first question. “Do you play any sport?”

“Boring question, next.” 

“We always start off with lame questions. Just answer it, you tease.”

“I don’t. Believe it or not, I’m absolute shit at physical activities. You could say I’m all brains and no brawn.”

“Aw even the ever so perfect Senkuu-chan has a shortcoming.”

“Yeah, whatever. My turn right?” After receiving a tacit reply, he followed up with his own question.

“What’s… your favorite drink?”

Gen smiled. “Weeell, the question’s lame-” 

“-cut me some slack.” 

“but I love talking about food so I don’t mind. It’s definitely cola! Nothing cheers me up more than a chilled bottle of cola!” Senkuu could see how enthusiastic he got whenever food was brought up. How cute of him.

He halted his train of thoughts.

Nothing wrong with finding his antics adorable.

“I’m not really into cola or sodas in general but I actually made some cola for an experiment a few years ago. It’s pretty easy to make. And way healthier too, I’m sure your nutritionist would agree with me this time.”

“... You added that last line just to spite me, right.”

“Me? I would never.” His stoic but pretty features were pissing him off, he had no right to look so good while sassing him.

“Then, what about making me some, _Senkuu-sensei_?” Right on cue with the slow melody in the background, one hand under his chin, he grabbed his cup and tipped it, his slender wrist fully coming into view. The jet black bracelet resting on it slid and clinked on the cup, the small noise dispelling the enticing moment he’d unintentionally created. 

Both men kept silent for a while. 

Upon realizing how misleading his action could have looked, Gen loudly brought down his cup and refrained from shamefully covering his face with his sleeves. He never meant for it to come out so flirty, what on earth was he doing. He hoped he wouldn’t misunderstand his intention. “ _What if I really meant it though… No can do, Gen, stop this right now._ ”

After the initial surprise, Senkuu chose to not dwell too long on the way his tone made him slightly twitch. “Would you look at that, His Highness requesting so much from this common man.” He playfully replied, however keeping this small piece of information in the back of his mind.

“Oopsie, I’m so used to entertain and platonically seduce my audience that it sometimes… happens.” He played it off with a small smile, making sure to make a brief eye contact to pretend he was somewhat confident and not internally crying. Technically it wasn’t false but not entirely true either. He did act like this on purpose sometimes but _not_ randomly like this. 

May Lady Luck be on his side for once and make his little tricks work.

“Hum… How interesting.” Had he somewhat felt like performing right then? He wasn’t that familiar with psychology so finding out more about the subject was promising. “Okay.”

“W… what’s okay?”

“I could make you some if the opportunity arises.” Senkuu blew a wavy strand of hair away and absently muttered something about the little difficulty it posed so he didn’t mind.

Even though he initially had been joking, the thought was making him so happy. He didn’t know why Senkuu was showing so much benevolence to him, a stranger laying out his life at ass o’clock in the morning. But judging by how fast his heart was beating, he was sure that, deep down, he’d needed it. In an effort of regaining his composure, he took advantage of these few seconds Senkuu was unknowingly buying him to regulate his heartbeat. 

It was his first question damn it. He couldn’t be so weak. 

Hoping his voice was stable, he bought his hands to his face and closed his eyes, feigning being simply flattered by the attention. “Aren’t you super nice? I’ll be looking forward to it then!” Senkuu acknowledged him with a small noise.

“My turn now. Sooo… What’s the most interesting place you’ve been to?”

“Wouldn’t it be… when I went exploiting that ore deposit with Chrome? Though that one time I was in Africa with a research team for Ebola was pretty nice… Okay, I’m settling on my trip to South America, it was about the swallows case, does it ring a bell?”

“I’m hardly keeping up with the amount of places you’ve been to, Senkuu-chan, please enlighten me?”

“You’re a lost cause, aren’t you.” Ignoring Gen’s whining, he resumed his story. “In brief, I managed to get on a scientific investigation on a weird-ass phenomenon. Can you imagine waking up one fine day and finding petrified swallows on your doorstep? Well neither could the citizens of this town in Paraguay. So we toured the continent for a month and we discovered and found out so much about it, but the exact cause. I’ll spare you the details, you look like your brain’s about to fry.”

He laughed as he imagined steam coming out of Gen’s ears if he said more.

“Oh yeah I think I’ve heard about something like that like two, three years ago? And you still don’t know?”

“We might have a clue but I’m ten billion percent not explaining it to you.”

“I don’t know if I should be happy or feel insulted. And saying ten billion percent is so extra.” Senkuu eye-rolled. “That’s amazing though, who knew you were so… important, I guess? To be part of such projects.”

“I honestly worked my ass off to win contests and use prize money to get there. Equipment is so damn expensive but it paid off in the end, didn’t it? All these trips were organized by the sponsors of some of these contests so joining the teams wasn't that much of a hassle.”

Gen absent-mindedly nodded, more focused on the deepness of his voice than what he was saying. He really liked the way he stressed some words. 

His drawl was ear candy.

“You still listening?” Oh, that, he was.

“Yeah, I am. Maan, you sound so damn smart, what the actual hell. I’m pretty sure you won your first contest at, like, ten.”

“Seven, to be exact.”

“Stop flexing that big, shiny brain of yours on me.”

“Anyway, it’s my turn. What’s the most useless skill you master?”

“Wait, is it Bullying Asagiri Gen Day? And it dwells in my ability to bend my fingers backwards at a ninety degree angle, thank you very much.”

“ _Asagiri… where did I hear this before?_ ” Not missing a beat, he replied. “Now, that’s really useless. But as long as it’s hypermobility with no other symptoms I guess you’re good.”

“It used to freak out kids way back then so I’ve picked this bad habit of hiding my hands, you see. But it has another purpose now, my hands are my lifeline as a mentalist so gotta take care of them. Clumsy as I am, hiding them was the best option. And it makes it all the more mysterious, doncha think?”

Senkuu shrugged his shoulders, more to make Gen react than anything else. He smirked when he got the desired response, i.e Gen flapping his sleeved hands like a kid and defending his argument alone. He simply urged him to ask his next question, to which the mentalist obliged with a newfound interest.

“What are your friends like, if you do have friends?”

“Don’t think I won’t get back at you for the shade you very casually threw at me right now.” Gen lifted his sleeves to his mouth to cover his sly smirk. “Among my closest friends, there’s... Tsukasa. The guy’s got a big brain on him, I’ve been trying to get him to pursue science with me for years but I don’t care anymore. I’ve met a guy who annoyingly calls us “brothers from different mothers”, Chrome.”

“Wait, that’s super cute.” He had been half joking about Senkuu having friends, so him actually naming several people off the top of his head was surprising.

“If you say so. I believe I mentioned him earlier, didn’t I? I met him during my senior year and we’ve applied here together. He’s as crazy about science as I am, we do all type of unsafe experiments together.” His smile got sketchy for a second. “Then, Ryuusui? I’m not sure he deserves to be ranked so high in my top interpersonal relationships ranking but he’s a cool guy. Met him this year. His knowledge on shipbuilding and navigation is fucking insane. He’s obnoxious at times but it never gets boring being around him.”

Gen nodded, fully focused on what he said. He was rather open, he didn’t expect the guy to answer with such honesty. “ _He’s nothing like I first imagined… he keeps proving me wrong._ ”

“Last but not least, Taiju & Yuzuriha. They’ve been a couple for so long that introducing them separately feels wrong. Taiju is a childhood friend and we both met Yuzuriha in middle school, around the same time as we met Tsukasa. Oh, maybe Kohaku but she definitely doesn’t deserve her place here.” His expression soured considerably as he deeply sighed.

“I wanna know~ who’s she? Another childhood friend?” When did he become so invested in his story? 

“My... step-sister. She’s a special case but I feel like she’d give me hell for not mentioning her. We did spend years of chaotic cohabitation in the same house after all. Enough about me, is this an interrogation session?” 

“I wanna hear more, what was it like at home, sounds so fun, tell me~”

“Hell no, stop whining that’s two questions in a row.”

“Meanie. I could get you to tell me more but I’ll keep my tactics secret.”

“Tactics? Give me a break, sounds like the crap Taiju used to read in high… school… a book…?”

Gen raised an eyebrow, what was going on this time? The way Senkuu suddenly snapped his fingers and pointed at him startled the hell out of him.

“I knew your face and name sounded familiar. You wrote that shitty book on magic psychology, didn’t you. Who knew you were so famous. I can’t believe it took me two hours to figure that out.”

Eyes widened, Gen dumbly pointed at himself. So Senkuu had heard of him before. It strangely made him feel good, improving his already excellent mood up another notch. 

“You’re so mean, calling it shitty.” He stuck his tongue out. “I’ll have you know that I spent a crazy amount of time on it, I’ll make you read it, mark my words.”

“Good luck with that.” 

Gen took no offense from his somewhat rude answer, he’d figured it was just the way he casually talked by now.

“Humor me and tell me what’s the most impressive thing you’ve done as a mentalist?

“Finally a good question! We~ll, see this bracelet? I was in this jewellery and I’d already spent quite a lot of money on useless things that day so I decided it was the opportune time to test something out.”

“Just so we’re clear, what does quite a lot mean to you?”

“Like… a million yen?”

Senkuu went speechless for a while. “That’s just “quite a lot” to you?” 

“Well I’ve done a lot worse so…” 

_“What is this guy…”_

“So yeah, I just had to sweet-talk the manager into offering me the bracelet that had caught my eyes for free and it actually happened in under ten minutes. Can you believe that? I swear my heart was beating so fast when I got out, I never thought my manipulative skills were so fatal.” Senkuu raised an eyebrow in utter admiration.

Senkuu extended his hand out of the blue, stopping a few centimeters away from Gen’s exposed hand.

“Sorry, can I? I’m tryna confirm something.”

Completely lost, Gen could only give his wordless consent by extending his hand and crossing what little distance still separated them.

The coldness of his fingers sent another shiver down his spine.

The way Senkuu delicately held and handled his wrist could only be explained by years of manipulating chemicals and fragile items. It was only logical. Gen knew it, yet it didn’t stop his brain from imagining it was out of consideration for him. He should stop deluding himself so much.

Senkuu, once again oblivious to Gen’s little emotional turmoil, fully focused on the piece of jewelry. It was an open bracelet made out of sculpted black jasper and yellow gold on the inner side, with carefully designed gold claw marks in the middle. Both ends were animal-sharped. “ _Panthers?_ ” He squinted harder to clearly identify what gemstones were encrusted in the panthers’ eyes and inside the claw marks.

The dim lights weren’t making this easy but he finally made out what he was looking for. Oh boy, if that wasn’t an interesting discovery.

“Mentalist, I know you’re not aware of this but this” he touched the bracelet as support for his argument, “is worth multiple millions of yens. I can’t believe you just up and left with it. I hope they got fired.”

“Oh?”

“Look, this head is most likely encrusted with benitoite” he pointed at the head with the small blue gemstones, “and the other one with alexandrite, this purplish hue is unmistakable. I’m not sure about the little ones ‘cause the lights are really shitty and I don’t have any tool but they might be... orange diamonds? Where’s Chrome when you need him…” Still mumbling, Senkuu let go of his hand. “Beautiful piece you got there, by the way.”

Gen took his hand back, trying not to focus on the lingering heat Senkuu had eventually left on him. Those damn dimmed lights better cover up whatever color his face was right then.

“I might have underestimated your potential, mentalist. You could overthrow a country with that mouth of yours. I’m admirative.”

“Stop messing with me.”

“I’m serious though.”

Gen’s eyes looked sad for a second before he managed to flash a tired, almost timid smile. Bringing his hand to his lap, he tried to forget the way his fingers had felt. So gentle.

“And…” Senkuu interrupted himself. “Nevermind, your turn.” Gen felt like he was about to say something important but he wouldn’t push it. Didn’t want to push it.

“Okay.”

✶ ☕ ✶

“”How old are you?”

“Nineteen.”

“No way, you’re a first year!”

“I had a feel you’d be older, lemme guess, fourth year?”

“Even your deduction skills are amazing, I’m giving up.”

...

“Is there something you suspect but have no proof of?”

“Hum… You know how there’s no reason why humans should be the only super advanced form of life, right.”

“ _I don't like where this is going…_ ”

“What if… there were really aliens out there? Like the whole Area 51 fuss was originally about?”

“Okay, my bad. Sorry I shouldn’t have asked.”

“Or mermaids? What if a monster like the Loch Ness one really existed? Oh my, do some research for me!”

“Yeah, how about no. You weirdo.” 

...

“What’s the most illegal thing you’ve done?”

“... I’ve done a lot. Faking my age overseas to get to obscure places, making unlicensed moonshine and selling it while underage... The most dangerous was venturing near a spring emitting a deadly poisonous gas with a local. To learn how to retrieve sulfuric acid...”

“... I’m speechless, Senkuu-chan… Never again, okay?”

“Never again.”

...

“What lie do you tell most often?”

“That “I’m on my way” when I’m still laying in bed.”

“Relatable for once.”

...

“If something were to happen and you were the only human left on Earth, what would you do?”

“Find a way to restart both humanity and civilization.”

“You can’t if you’re the only one though?”

“Maybe your aliens will come in handy, at that time.”

“Ugh I hate you so much.”

…

“Is there something you’ve done recently and are proud of?”

“No really- oh yeah there’s something. I modeled for this magazine, wanna see, wanna see?”

“Not really.”

“You’re so mean…” 

✶ ☕ ✶

“Ugh I’m beat, I don’t wanna play this game ever again, it’s so damn long!” Senkuu stretched his arms to emphasize his point.

“I can’t believe you tried to trick me with a math question…”

“You just gotta do better next time, you loser.”

“ _Next time… do you mean it..._ ”

Nevermind a next time, he didn’t want this moment to end. It had been so long since he’d last enjoyed himself so much. He’d originally come here because he didn’t want to be home and face his demons. 

He was roused from his thoughts by the vibrations of his phone. 

_06:12_

_3 new messages from Mozu_

When you speak of the devil, he shall appear. He instantly shivered and reflexively looked around them. It didn’t escape Senkuu’s attention.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“You can’t fool me, I’ve seen you look around like a dozen times already.” He decided to add something to lighten the mood. "I gotta know if there are crazy stalkers I should avoid while getting home.”

Senkuu frowned when Gen remained silent and settled for a sad and confused expression. 

“I’m… not sure I should talk about it. And I’d hate to ruin the mood y’know, and burden you with unnecessary stuff.” 

“For some reason I hate seeing you acting so weird, it’s not you to look randomly hurt, you’re supposed to be all smiles and silly jokes. And I don’t think I’m such a bad listener, but if you’re adamant about not wanting to talk about it, I won’t push it.” 

Gen would have never thought Senkuu could be so straightforward with how he felt when something was bothering him. They’d known each other for three hours at the most, why was he holding such a positive image of him?

He hadn’t been able to bring this up with Nikki because he knew she’d worry too much and he didn’t want it to get any bigger than it already was. He hadn’t felt comfortable enough to tell anyone and it wasn’t like he had that many friends at uni or in his social circle that he could trust with such personal stuff.

He wanted to talk about it. He wanted to tell Senkuu. 

“Then how about this. I want you to tell me what you were working on when I got here as a bargain chip.”

“I really don’t get why you want to know that badly but whatever tickles your fancy. I’m all ears.”

Gen took a deep breath.

“It’s really silly but… this guy…” he stopped. Shit, he forgot it meant coming out to him. “ _It’s okay, just say it, it’s okay._ ”

“I met this guy two years ago and he wooed me into going out with him.” he paused there to see Senkuu’s face. It hadn’t changed one iota. He sigh in relief. “Of course I caught some feelings over time but I later realized he didn’t… well, not really. We were together for almost eight months before he started acting really weirdly. Not answering my texts for days, refusing to meet up or only coming to me when he… needed it. Then he started comparing me to other people, mostly girls and saying shit like I was less beautiful than we met and how it bothered him. That’s why I picked up another bad habit.” he pointed at his face. 

Upon closer inspection Senkuu finally noticed his made-up face. His skin looked unnaturally flawless and even-toned, his eyes seemed larger than they should be, highlighting his dark blue eyes. He crossed his arms as if to brace himself for what was to come.

“He wouldn’t be satisfied until I was all made-up, and around the clock. I started bleaching my hair to change looks so I wouldn’t be “boring”, if I were to borrow his words. He criticized my weight even though I knew nothing was wrong with it but… it made me so self conscious for a while, I couldn’t refrain from weighing myself everyday and watching what I ate. We would end up arguing every time we tried to talk.”

Senkuu thought back to their very first conversation. It was starting to make sense.

Gen inhaled a shaky breath, eyes cast down. Now that he was letting it all out, he realized how bad it sounded.

“Anyway, I broke up because it was long overdue and I couldn’t stand him anymore. He was starting to destroy my self-image, confidence and he wasn’t even hiding the fact that he was cheating on me either. He lost it and shouted the most hurtful things at me before vanishing. And like, three months ago, just when everything was going back to normal, he reappeared out of the blue. At first it was texts saying “can we meet up”, “we need to talk”, or I miss you”... ” 

He nearly spat out the last words.

“I caught him once waiting in front of my apartment building and I had to threaten him to call the police to get him to leave. My manager Nikki-chan is always with me so he didn’t have any other opportunity but… I’m sure he keeps an eye on me somehow so I’m always checking my surroundings, you see… ”

“ _I’m sure he hates me now… why did I say all that…_ ”

“Can I say what I think? Without sugarcoating?”

“Don’t be ruthless either…” 

It wasn’t like he had a broken heart, he was just deeply hurt by a relationship he should’ve never had. He hoped he could withstand anything the scientist was about to say. From what he knew about him, he was going to be blunt as hell.

“He toyed with you.”

His words hurt. Clenching his hands, he let him speak his mind.

“And he’s utter trash for that. It might sound pretentious of me, but the Gen you described just now isn’t the one I met tonight. All I can say is that he’s fucking missing out. He can stay out there whoring himself out with his fellow hoes if he wants, good riddance.”

Gen looked up at him in complete surprise. He never expected him to stand up for him.

“Forget about bothering people or aggravating it, _your_ situation spells danger in bright neon lights. The guy is fucking nuts, this is clearly harassment. Report it and get a restraining order if you deem it necessary. But do something about it.”

“I…”

“I said you’re going to do something about it, today.”

“Damn you’re so authoritative, slow down my heart is about to break out from my ribcage.” He wasn’t lying, he felt like he was on the verge of exploding. 

Had anyone ever listened to him more than Senkuu had in one night?

It felt like a burden was lifted off his chest.

“I’ll… I’ll do it. It was silly of me to let this worsen on its own. Thank you Senkuu-chan.”

“Damn right, it was.” Once again, he didn’t reply to his thanks. He didn’t like seeing his good actions being acknowledged, how cute.

“... I heard you calling me Gen for the first time, it didn’t go by unnoticed.”

“Shut up, you want to know what this paper is about or not?”

“I do!” 

That was the most genuine he had sounded in months.

✶ ☕ ✶

“I’m coming right back.” Gen watched Senkuu get up and collecting their empty cups.

He was wearing black clothes from head to toes. It sort of fitted his personality, Gen thought as he tried not to let his eyes linger too long on him.

“You’re taller than I thought.”

Senkuu gave him the stink eye. “Let a skinny guy have the height advantage.”

Gen watched him walk away until he was out of sight. He took his phone and stared at it for several minutes before unlocking it. He didn’t need to read the messages to know what they were about. 

He couldn’t let this scum make his life miserable any longer. 

“Thanks for waiting, Gen.” 

Senkuu had slipped behind him and whispered the words in his ear. Violently backing off, Gen couldn’t believe his boldness. 

“Are you crazy? Who does that!?” His face ought to be flaming red.

“C’mon.” There he went again, eye-rolling at him.

“I’ve never seen a bolder first-year than you, for heaven’s sake.”

Senkuu flashed his signature shit-eating grin while putting a tray with two drinks and a cute box on the table. 

“What’s this?”

“Drinks, can’t you see.”

“Yeah, first off, why two? Then I’m obviously talking about the box, silly.”

Senkuu walked around the table and sat down. Gen hated how much he’d loved watching the meaningless action.

“Well I obviously ordered them. No way in hell I am sitting here another hour without something to keep me fully aware, you ask too many questions to answer to.” It was Gen’s turn to eye-roll. “so here’s another drink for ya. Ukyo packed the box when I said you loved the shortcake.”

“Ukyo…? Ah, the cashier. Thank you, I love the attention… I’ll make sure to thank him too!”

Senkuu didn’t reply for a while, appreciating how much more sincere Gen’s expressions looked. The way he always closed his eyes made him look like a fox, it was quite unique but he’d already grown to like it.

Just like the way he tilted his head every time the scientist said something, no matter how uninteresting. 

The way he pouted over the smallest things, the very reason why he was pointing out the most unnecessary stuff to make him react. 

The way he always crossed his arms, sliding his hands in the opposite sleeve. Senkuu thought that maybe he was used to wearing kimono and that kind of ample clothes.

His whole character screamed natural cuteness.

Seemed like even he wasn’t invulnerable to it. Gen waved a hand to catch his attention. 

“So… is this a top secret research paper or something?” Gen wondered half-jokingly while glancing at the single sheet of paper next to his closed laptop on the table. He could only make out a few words from his position and since it didn’t help at all, he snatched it before Senkuu could react. Not that the man cared in the slightest.

“You wish.” His low chuckle gently echoed around them. “Well, it’s all scientific stuff, still ready to hear about it?” The way he suddenly leaned forward, cushioning his chin into his open palm admittedly sent an umpteenth shiver down the mentalist’s spine. Playing along, Gen sipped his drink once then took on a stance similar to Senkuu’s.

“Bring it on.”

✶ ☕ ✶

“I have this genetics class, you see. And I’m supposed to turn in a paper about eugenics by the day after tomorrow. But I’m not feeling this topic at all.”

“I’m sure I’ve heard of this term once but… my memory’s so fuzzy, care to explain what it’s all about?”

“Well, simply put it’s about genetic manipulation. In order to breed only the brightest offspring and eliminate the “defective genes” some people supposedly pass down to future generations. This movement started in the 19th century and some assholes won’t let go of this practice to this day.” 

“Oh… I can see where the problem lies. But aren’t you being a little too partial about it? Science is science, right? Writing a satisfactory paper to your Teach is what really matters, don’t you think so? Even though the topic is totally gross, you don’t have to mean any of it if it disheartens you so much.”

Senkuu sighed, twirling the now lukewarm liquid in his cup.

“No can do. I don’t lie to myself, and even less to science.”

Gen let the line sink in. He couldn’t say the statement surprised him but it was something else to hear him say it out loud, it had sounded so genuine.

His confidence was so attractive.

“Now that you say it… remember when you said you’d restore humanity if you had the opportunity to? We can go from there. I’ll first take an objective stance in this matter.”

“Okay.” He was surprised Gen was willing to debate on such a delicate subject for most people.

“Do you think the seven billion of us deserve to be saved, if something were to happen independently of our will?”

“I do. Of course I think we’d be better off without a few million of us. But if no one chose to be affected by an unfortunate event, I would save everyone then deal with whatever situation we have at hand afterwards.”

“Despite the way you act and frown upon a lot of idiotic things humans do, you’re very attached to humanity as a whole. That’s a good point.” He snatched the pen wandering alone on the table and wrote down a few notes.”

“You really psychoanalyzing me right now?” Senkuu chuckled, amused.

“I’m just taking a few notes, stop picking on me. Okay, now, do you think everyone should be able to freely reproduce?” He tried not to laugh at the reading glasses Gen had pulled out of nowhere and put on his nose. 

“Instinctively I’d say yes. But it depends on people, to be honest.” 

“How so?”

“Regardless of our status, level of income, job, lifestyles, ethnicity, sexuality we’re all constituted in the same way so we should all have the same rights to have children if desired. However people with serious stuff running in the family history could, of their own volition, choose not to and it’s understandable.”

“Isn’t that one of the points of eugenics? Not to pass down illnesses or disabilities?”

“Yeah but no. Eugenics are about choosing who can and who can not, who’s allowed and who’s not. It’s imposed and belittling.”

“It then becomes a matter of ethics, right? Why do you think suppressing… “defective” genes through this process is wrong?”

“One, we can’t suppress some conditions for good just by prohibiting people to have children. Two, get rid of them and new ones will appear. It may take centennia, millenia for new mutations to happen but they will happen.”

“After all biology is shaped by the environment we evolve into.”

“Right… ”

“Why do you sound so surprised, I’m a science student too, you said it!” 

His pout was lethal with glasses on, Senkuu quickly averted his eyes.

“Can you tell me the main pros and cons of eugenics, for future reference?” the word sounded so foreign to him, he was rather surprised he hadn’t messed it up. “Ugly word by the way.”

“It literally means good breeding, of course it’s ugly. Ugh making me give you a whole lesson, gimme that.” Senkuu snatched back the paper sheet and his pen.

Gen stuck out his tongue again, not feeling an ounce of remorse. “Stop sulking, you know you’re good at what you do, giving lessons that is. Ever thought of becoming a real teacher?”

“Yeah right, I already have one back home, that’s more than enough. Before you ask, I’m talking about my old man. Ask later.” Senkuu anticipated while writing down a few words. 

Gen closed his mouth. Damn, the man didn’t even need to look at him anymore to know what he was up to.

Senkuu gave him the paper and the pen back. “That’s basically it.”

_pros : none_

_cons : lots_

“I hate you so much” Gen laughed and crossed out the words before sipping what was left of his drink.

“It’s not even considered science today. Long short story, the guy who coined this word -Francis Galton, was obsessed with the idea of genius. And for him it should be obtained through heredity, so biological factors rather than environmental factors.”

“It’s the whole nature versus nurture thingy then.”

“You know your stuff, mentalist. Not bad.” 

He wouldn’t admit the praise made him giddy on the inside.

“At first “intelligence” was the trait he wanted to preserve over generations ‘cause his studies, for what they’re worth, showed that if “eminent” people had children with “non-eminent” people, this trait disappeared over time. There were even places collecting data where you could evaluate the suitability of a marriage.”

“To inherit the highest IQ and the most perfect physical traits. It was a disguised way to shape the population and influence human evolution, only prettily worded ?” Senkuu held back an pleased interjection. He hadn’t really expected him to keep up that well. He locked eyes with Gen for a while and smiled before resuming his improvised lesson.

“Exactly. A method of selective breeding to eliminate “genetically inferior” and “defective” people on the long run. Criminals, foreigners, addicts, people of ill-repute, people with disabilities. Because their “feeblemindedness” was supposedly easier to inherit.” Senkuu sighed.

“Yikes.”

“I know.”

“Even though heredity is way more complex than that.”

Senkuu pondered a bit before continuing. “Heredity has little meaning to me. It doesn’t hold a candle to the “genius” obtained through diligence and humanity’s accumulated knowledge. What good would it do a kid to be born in a whole line of bigots.” 

“Especially if they could live in an ordinary but loving family… right?” 

Senkuu stopped his response to stare at Gen, who innocently stared back. “You little fox, that was a leading question.”

“It’s part of my job, Senkuu-chan~ I think I understand why the subject pisses you off so much. I had a hunch something personal was mixed in. Your own family, isn’t it?”

He couldn’t lie, his little trick had wonderfully worked. He totally got him. He couldn’t deny how appealing Gen looked right now, going all intellectual on him. The glasses really weren’t helping.

“Sorry, tell me if I’m overstepping some boundaries here.”

His sudden loss of confidence was almost endearing to him.

“That’s cute to worry about me but go ahead, I’m curious to hear what you deducted.” There he went again, leaning forward and making Gen want to kiss his smirk away.

“Well from what you already told me and what I learned just now, I know you have a blended family, and that you come from your dad’s side. About that, I’m now more inclined to think that… you aren’t biologically related to him too.”

“How did you come to this conclusion?”

“You had quite a soft voice when you talked about your dad earlier, and you did say heredity meant little to nothing to you, among other things. So… I figured.”

“Congrats Sherlock, you got me. You’re not a charlatan.”

“Jokes on you, your words don’t affect me no more.”

“You sure about that?” His drawl was back in full force. Trying not to swoon had never been harder.

“Yeah I’m sure, let’s get back to it. I don’t appreciate how much you love to tease me.”

“Try to find out why.”

“Huh?” Had he heard right?

“You said it, let’s get back to it, mentalist.”

Gen nodded and pointed his pen at him, as if to give him the go-ahead.

“To conclude, the purpose of eugenics is to control heredity and, let’s speak frankly, to erase difference and diversity. Aren’t we falling into the “let’s create the most perfect clones” bullshit with this concept? It’s not because a child is born with a disability or an illness that they don’t deserve to live. Who are we to decide the worth of one’s life, anyway.”

“It reminds me of this quote… “if we don’t play God, who will”, James D. Watson... I totally agree with you.”

“I’m not the religious type so it’s not like the saying particularly bothers me. What I can say is that the people who established this concept were and it’s hella hypocrite of them. Messing with the human genome is foolish. Playing God ain’t cute.”

“An~d?”

“You really wanna make me spill the beans. My father is amazing at what he does, but he never did well academically until he got his shit together. So when I think that, at some point in time, he could’ve fallen into the feebleminded category when he’s so great… Not being biologically related doesn’t stop me from still getting pissed off.”

His face didn’t show much emotion but irritation was seeping through his voice.

“Sounds like a good guy.” Gen’s distraction worked, as Senkuu agreed with a smile.

“They’re all so loud, you should see them.” 

The mentalist bit his lip to stop himself from asking the one question too many but he did it anyway. His filter was long gone.

“Say, Senkuu-chan… You’ve mentioned a possible “next time” a few times already… Do you mean it?” His heartbeat was picking up pace again. 

“I also don’t say shit I don’t mean.”

“ _Don’t say it, Gen, don’t._ ”

“I want to be totally honest and… I’m trying, but I can’t bring myself to think of you just as a simple friend, or whatever. I understand if you...”

“I get it.”

“... You do?”

“I do.”

“You do. Okay. You do…”

Gen watched the other student take his stuff back and packing them in his bag. He didn’t understand where they stood. Did he really get it?

“You could think of this as a first date then.”

Senkuu witnessed Gen’s brain short-circuiting.

‘Uh?”

“Sure felt like one.”

“Wha…”

“I don’t know about you but it’s seven am, I’m not staying here another minute. So get your lazy ass up and some beauty sleep while you’re at it.”

“Wait, what did you…”

“I’m leaving without you.”

“Wait, I’m coming, I’m coming!” He’d never gotten ready so quickly.

“The hell, how you get ready so fast, do you quick-change or something.”

“Actually I do, although I’m not the best at it.”

“I didn’t ask.”

“You did!”

Ukyo yawned, sitting behind the counter. He couldn’t wait for his co-worker to arrive so he could to go home. A hardly hushed conversation got him paying attention to its source. Senkuu and the customer who came in at three am were seemingly leaving. So they were sitting together, his ears never deceived him. He knew Senkuu wasn’t re-ordering so much for him alone. He straightened up and flashed them a tired smile.

“Going home? The sun has already risen, boys.” The disinterested look he got from Senkuu was the usual. By contrast, the cheerfulness from the other was new to him.

“Ukyo-chan, was it? Thank you for the box, I’ll make sure to eat them all by the afternoon!”

“Don’t forget your diet-”

“Shut up.”

Ukyo frowned. He hadn’t offered anything, Senkuu asked for it. Which had been surprising given he rarely ordered sweets. But it was all making sense now. He chuckled. 

“You’re welcome, hum…”

“You can call me Gen. I’ll definitely be back soon anyway. Bye!”

✶ ☕ ✶

“Gimme your phone.” Was the first thing that came out of Senkuu’s mouth as soon as they got out. Gen did as he was told, receiving a text the second he got his phone back. “There, reassured?”

“I wasn’t worried.” How many eye-rolls had he given that night?

“Sure. Well, I’m going to class now.”

“You’re _what_?”

“I’m not sleeping for one measly hour then dragging my ass all the way over to uni.”

“You’re so… Good thing I don’t have class today, I would’ve skipped without a second thought.”

“I know you would have.” 

"Wait what are you doing about that paper?”

“Oh that? Don’t worry, I’ll just express the very bottom of my mind, don’t care about the grade anymore. After all, I don’t lie to myself. Thanks for reminding me.”

"I didn't... do anything though?"

"Discussing it reminded me of who I am as a scientist, if I don't agree with it then I won't force myself to. So like I said, don't worry about it."

“Yeah right, I’m even more worried.”

His laughter echoed in the street as he took a step back. “Til next time, text me when you wake up.”

“Yeah. Yeah I will.”

“And-”

“I’ll call Nikki-chan and explain the situation properly today. Got it.” Gen agreed with a soft smile.

“There are taxis around, take one to get home safely. See ya.”

Gen couldn’t believe how casual their parting was. And it might be what he'd liked most about Senkuu... Like they hadn’t met the very same day. He couldn’t believe the whole night, honestly. He absent-mindedly hailed a taxi.

Once in his apartment, he kicked off his shoes and put the fancy-looking box in the kitchen before crashing on his bed ungracefully.

Nothing felt real right now. He wriggled around as the entire night flashed through his mind. Senkuu was so rude and teasing but he couldn’t wait to see him again, what the hell.

He sent a text to Nikki and was fast asleep the next minute.

_Hey, can you drop by later today? I have sweets and smth to tell u_

_And yeah, I think i’ll need that week off after all, you could say I have some cola tastings to attend_

**Author's Note:**

> I did bullshit some of the eugenics discussion ngl I'm shit at science, idk why I just remembered one of my teachers talking about eugenical laws once and I thought it could be nice to slide it there (kudos to crashcourse) so... 
> 
> see you soon maybe?


End file.
